Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Duma Touris

So I apologize for not writing in like the whole last month. I have been too busy taking in as many experiences that I can and not to mention the fact that I had two papers to write and any work in the Gam is amplified 100% due to lack of recourses and frequent power outages.

I have now been in The Gambia for almost 3 months and it is unbelievable how much in love I am with the country and its people.  For being in the smallest country on the West coast of Africa I have met more people from many more different places then I have ever met in the United States. This country is a melting pot. I am not even including the many tourists who flock here for the Sun Sand and Smiles. The Gambia has become a safe haven for people of many different origins. I hitchhiked with a Serbian family, a family from Cuba; I have also encountered many people from neighboring countries such as Sera Leon, Guinea Bissau, Mali, and Senegal. There is also a very large Lebanese population and we have become very close with them.  

Every day is a new adventure and even when we notice that were caught in a routine we still manage to switch it up somehow. Our favorite hangout spot is Aladdin’s, it is owned by the nicest Lebanese man who really reminds me of my father. He is kind and generous and has quite the sense of humor. Often times we get food knocked off our bill and the algile (can’t spell)  also known as hookah is always free. I have even learned the ritual of how to pass the hose and how to thank the person giving it to you, oh we also learned that the words for the thing you put on the end of the hookah is called a beez which translates into something similar to boob.  Due to our frequenting here we have realized how small the country really is. One of the customers that usually comes there who my friends got a ride with, is the cousin of another guy who dropped us home the previous weekend. It seems that everyone knows someone and connections can be found all over the place.   We have been invited to a bbq from the Hussein the owner of Aladdin’s, I am really looking forward to this.

The one girl that we live with Matilda is from Sweden and I have picked up a few phrases and words from her in Swedish. Of course these are words and phrases that I probably won’t ever use because there not something you would go up and say to just anyone.  My Wolof is improving although the only words I every use are Duma Touris, jangakatla, which means I am not a tourist I am a student. This I often times say to taxi drivers who like to try and take advantage of tourist who don’t know the going rate for a taxi.

It’s hard to sum up my experience here so far but the most important thing I have learned that the world is a very small place. A lot of Gambians have traveled to Europe and America and a lot of Gambians also have family living in these places. It’s important to be generous, those without a lot of money are always willing to make you dinner. This is something I would like to take back to the US. All to often people are only thinking about themselves, making and saving money that they miss out on the human experience of sharing.

I went to dinner at one of our neighbor’s mothers house and it was a wonderful experience. The food was wonderful, served in a big bowl and eaten communally with our hands. We also watched a Nigerian film that was extremely interesting.

I am going to be very deprived of attention when I get back to the States. I am now used to people who are driving in the opposite direction turning around to pick me up and take me where I need to go even though it was not anywhere near their destination. I have had my food pied for, and people who are more than willing to sit and listen to me. Everyone here says hello and would love more than anything then to sit and talk with you all day. At bars I never have to pay for a thing , Being able to go to bars is something that I am really going to miss the 6 months I am home before I turn 21.  Little kids on the street running up to me is something that I will never experience in America. Parents instill in their children that stranger a bad. With this attitude children are going to grow up to stick to what and who they know and will never experience what the world has to offer. We can all learn from each other and one another’s culture. I look forward to being more outgoing when I get back and taking my time listening to other peoples point of view.

I am sorry that this blog is so wishy washy but I had a lot to cover and I barely even scratched the surface. I am going to need to start another blog just documenting my night life experiences those within themselves would make a wonderful novel much like those by Chelsea Handler!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

1 month in

I have been here in The Gambia for over a month now.  I cant believe that much time has passed, in a way it feels like I have been here all my life and in other ways it feels like I have just arrived. I am always having Larium dreams that I am going home and I wake up upset because I am no where ready to leave. I absolutely love it here. I feel myself changing more and more everyday whether its the color of my skin or my own philosophy on life. I am now running on Gambian time which may be a problem when I get back to the states. Here it is as if people are going with the flow and by flow I mean slow trickle of life. Its nice to just move with time instead of making time go to the pace that you want it to. If someone is late it just lets you know that in the future its ok to make them wait. Being on Tubob time when everyone else is on gambian time is not fun. Most events start atleast 2 hours after the designated time. People seem quite understanding of everything that happens. In Woloff mas means sorry and people are always saying mas even if you are the one that has done something. Me being clumsy as I am often times find myself tripping here and running into things and when I do such things as this I hear shouts of mas everywhere.

Hitchhiking is my favorite thing to do in The Gambia. Its a way to meet all sorts of people. The Gambia is a melting pot and often times when we get in a car we find that people come from all over to live in the Gambia and Gambians have also been everywhere. We have made friends with people from the Libyan embassy. Whether we need a ride or not they are always stopping for us and we seem to see them everywhere. The other day I got in a truck with air conditioning it was a wonderful treat to feel cool air.